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Trestman: We Want To Run 100 More Plays This Year

ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 24: Head Coach Marc Trestman of the Chicago Bears watches from the sidelines during a game against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on November 24, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Thomas/Getty Images)Marc Trestman. (Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

(CBS) Entering this new season, there’s no doubt the Bears’ offense is the strength of the team. Chicago was second in the NFL in scoring (27.8 ppg) in 2013, and it was eighth in total offense (381.8 ypg).

So the way coach Marc Trestman sees it, the Bears might as well speed up the offensive pace and get the ball in its playmakers’ hands more often.

“Last year, we were kind of in the early stages of our offense,” Trestman said on the Mully and Hanley Show on 670 The Score on Friday morning. “We just found we were better out of the huddle and working from that format. There were teams that were ahead of us offensively that ran over 100 more plays than we did — two or three teams that did. If we can add 100 plays to what we already did, that would be a great starting point.”

To reach that goal, the Bears would likely need to use the no-huddle more often, which they didn’t do much of last year. Using Trestman’s metrics, 100 more plays over 16 games would amount to six or seven extra offensive plays per game. While that’s not a culture shock, it would be six or seven more chances for the likes of Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte to get the ball.

The Bears were second in scoring last year in large part because they were efficient in the red zone, scoring touchdowns more than 58 percent of the time. With that in mind and continuity in place, Trestman said no expectations are too high for the Bears offense.

“Our expectations are very high,” Trestman said. “We looked at what we did last year, and we left a lot of yards on the field. We think we can clean some things up. But with high expectations, you still have to go to work every day. You still have to focus on what you can do today.

“Everybody can get better.”

You can listen to Trestman’s entire interview below. He also addresses the Bears’ confidence and the new defensive coaches, among other topics.